"Come on. You can do it, Sweetie." your dad said, crouching a foot away as you struggled to stand on your own. You wished he would just continue to carry you, but he'd insisted that you learn to walk. Annoyed at struggling to do something that you thought was unnecessary, you simply sat down and pouted instead. "Come on, ___." your father urged. "If you can walk over here, I'll give you a cookie!"

"Cookie!" you said excitedly. That was worth the struggle of walking. You pushed yourself up again so you were standing, wobbling a bit. You carefully put one foot forward, then the other in front of that. You went to take another step and stumbled forward. You managed to stop yourself from falling forward, only to fall backward instead.

Everything was silent for a moment, including your dad, which was more of a surprise than you falling. But instead of crying, you giggled and pushed yourself back up. Your dad sighed in relief as you continued walking toward him. With each step, you got more used to it. It didn't take you long to reach him, and he scooped you up in his arms.

"You were brilliant!" he said, kissing you on the forehead before giving you the cookie he promised. "Absolutely fantastic. That's my girl. Learning to walk so quick. You enjoy that cookie, yea? There's plenty more. And now that you can walk, I don't doubt I'll find you in the kitchen looking for them."

You finished your cookie and looked up at your dad. "Nap..." you said, yawning. "Now."

"Alright, Bossy Pants." he said, carrying you to your room. He tucked you in and sat in the chair in the corner, waiting until you fell asleep.